5 ms·

> as if the entire premise is completely wrong, and there is literally no negative effects of globalization. Well, sure. If you're a skilled professional in a

by ng12 9y ago

> as if the entire premise is completely wrong, and there is literally no negative effects of globalization. Well, sure. If you're a skilled professional in a coastal metropolis globalization is great. Your company is making record profits and you can buy all the cheap gadgets you want. And then Trump gets elected and you can't even fathom how or why.

mistermann 9y ago
I can understand how one can believe that it will all work out fine, after all one can easily form mental experiments (and find supporting evidence) supporting either outcome. But this absolutely steadfast refusal to even consider the possibility that once it is China who holds all the cards and it is them who are making the big decisions for the world that perhaps, just perhaps, life may not work out quite as nicely as before. Perhaps I'm a bit jaded from my experience living in Vancouver, but historically Canadians had the option to move here and accept a somewhat lower standard of living in exchange for the nicer climate we enjoy. That option is now largely gone, and I expect it to be completely gone within 10 years, and after that it will be the other most desirable locations in the rest of Canada. It is simple economics. Aussies and New Zealanders among others are experiencing the same thing. Of course, detractors can easily point to government "statistics" (that completely ignore blind corporations, proxy purchases, etc) showing foreign activity in real estate to be <5%, but I suspect the main reason most everyone (or at least voters) chooses to "believe" this obviously fake data is because a lot of people are making a loooooot of money from this shift in world order. For now. Let's see how happy are when it is their (and their children's) turn to pay the piper. You made a couple million bucks on your house? Great! Better hope you have only one child, because you cannot buy a home in Vancouver with earned income any longer. Oh sure, you can get a condo, for now, but soon even that option will be beyond reach. Luckily for Canadians we have a near infinite amount of beautiful land (weather, not so much), so there will always be somewhere for us to go, other countries I'm not so sure are similarly blessed. But either way, I'd have rather we retained our sovereignty. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- nerfhammer 9y ago
  So float the housing market. People are willing to place huge bets on the local polities never, ever allowing housing prices to fall. If there were some risk the housing supply could ever increase enough to meet demand this behavior would instantly disappear. Market distortions attract speculators.
- nullnilvoid 9y ago
  I can understand that people like to blame their problems on others. If housing prices go up, it's China fault. If Americans lose jobs, Mexicans' fault. Anyway, it is much easier to direct anger towards others than to find out the real reasons.
  - mistermann 9y ago
    Is that honestly what you took away from this? Really? This deliberate nonsense is what's wrong with the world.
    - nullnilvoid 9y ago
      We had been telling you to get training, re-education and other qualifications so that you can change jobs and move up the value chain for more than 30 years. These low-paying jobs will be gone eventually, to other developing countries or to AI and automation. While there are workers who cannot find jobs, there is a severe shortage of computer engineers in the tech industry. These tech companies cannot hire enough engineers. They had to bring H1B workers from India, for example. It is just the way human society develop. 150 years ago, you could make a good living by driving horse carriages. Then cars and trains came along and they stole your jobs. 50 years ago, you could support your family by loading punch cards. Then, magnetic disks and SSD came along and took your jobs. According to research, AI will take away 30% of the jobs in 10 years. The thing is you need to constantly learn and change. For engineers, we need to upgrade our skills all the time. Otherwise you will fall behind and lose your jobs.
hiram112 9y ago
> If you're a skilled professional in a coastal metropolis globalization is great... Might want to modify that to a 'skilled professional under 35'. The H1B, offshoring, and the race to the bottom with younger and foreign workers is something that you'll think you won't have to worry about for a while. And then you get older. With a family, kids, mortgage - a life full of things that leave little room for the next JS package manager or version of Angular.
- fineline 9y ago
  I am older, have family and mortgage, time and financial pressures. But I still get excited about new developments in my trade as a primarily front-end dev, including package managers and frameworks. And the experience, capabilities and track record of success that I bring to the table act as a differentiator between me and my younger colleagues. Not to discount your point, just to say there's more than one way to look at it. For some, they reach a point in their lives / careers where constant change is wearisome. Others continue to adapt and thrive. I have no idea what underlying factors would cause this.

by ng12 9y ago

mistermann 9y ago

I can understand how one can believe that it will all work out fine, after all one can easily form mental experiments (and find supporting evidence) supporting either outcome. But this absolutely steadfast refusal to even consider the possibility that once it is China who holds all the cards and it is them who are making the big decisions for the world that perhaps, just perhaps, life may not work out quite as nicely as before. Perhaps I'm a bit jaded from my experience living in Vancouver, but historically Canadians had the option to move here and accept a somewhat lower standard of living in exchange for the nicer climate we enjoy. That option is now largely gone, and I expect it to be completely gone within 10 years, and after that it will be the other most desirable locations in the rest of Canada. It is simple economics. Aussies and New Zealanders among others are experiencing the same thing. Of course, detractors can easily point to government "statistics" (that completely ignore blind corporations, proxy purchases, etc) showing foreign activity in real estate to be <5%, but I suspect the main reason most everyone (or at least voters) chooses to "believe" this obviously fake data is because a lot of people are making a loooooot of money from this shift in world order. For now. Let's see how happy are when it is their (and their children's) turn to pay the piper. You made a couple million bucks on your house? Great! Better hope you have only one child, because you cannot buy a home in Vancouver with earned income any longer. Oh sure, you can get a condo, for now, but soon even that option will be beyond reach. Luckily for Canadians we have a near infinite amount of beautiful land (weather, not so much), so there will always be somewhere for us to go, other countries I'm not so sure are similarly blessed. But either way, I'd have rather we retained our sovereignty. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
nerfhammer 9y ago
So float the housing market. People are willing to place huge bets on the local polities never, ever allowing housing prices to fall. If there were some risk the housing supply could ever increase enough to meet demand this behavior would instantly disappear. Market distortions attract speculators.
nullnilvoid 9y ago
I can understand that people like to blame their problems on others. If housing prices go up, it's China fault. If Americans lose jobs, Mexicans' fault. Anyway, it is much easier to direct anger towards others than to find out the real reasons.
- mistermann 9y ago
  Is that honestly what you took away from this? Really? This deliberate nonsense is what's wrong with the world.
  - nullnilvoid 9y ago
    We had been telling you to get training, re-education and other qualifications so that you can change jobs and move up the value chain for more than 30 years. These low-paying jobs will be gone eventually, to other developing countries or to AI and automation. While there are workers who cannot find jobs, there is a severe shortage of computer engineers in the tech industry. These tech companies cannot hire enough engineers. They had to bring H1B workers from India, for example. It is just the way human society develop. 150 years ago, you could make a good living by driving horse carriages. Then cars and trains came along and they stole your jobs. 50 years ago, you could support your family by loading punch cards. Then, magnetic disks and SSD came along and took your jobs. According to research, AI will take away 30% of the jobs in 10 years. The thing is you need to constantly learn and change. For engineers, we need to upgrade our skills all the time. Otherwise you will fall behind and lose your jobs.

hiram112 9y ago

> If you're a skilled professional in a coastal metropolis globalization is great... Might want to modify that to a 'skilled professional under 35'. The H1B, offshoring, and the race to the bottom with younger and foreign workers is something that you'll think you won't have to worry about for a while. And then you get older. With a family, kids, mortgage - a life full of things that leave little room for the next JS package manager or version of Angular.

fineline 9y ago
I am older, have family and mortgage, time and financial pressures. But I still get excited about new developments in my trade as a primarily front-end dev, including package managers and frameworks. And the experience, capabilities and track record of success that I bring to the table act as a differentiator between me and my younger colleagues. Not to discount your point, just to say there's more than one way to look at it. For some, they reach a point in their lives / careers where constant change is wearisome. Others continue to adapt and thrive. I have no idea what underlying factors would cause this.